Do you need a private cloud?

The following is a short hit list of facts about cloud computing that will help you to place yourself on a level playing field with buzzword fanciers. Cloud computing is…

Lot of people

A lot of people, including techies, think that cloud computing is simply virtualization on a very large scale nevertheless this isn’t specifically true. The difference in virtualization and cloud computing is that virtualization is simply placing workloads on individual virtual systems. The individual systems are virtual instead of physical yet they have analogous functionality and purpose: A web server, a file server, a database server. You can have thousands of virtual machines where each performs its own functions. This is not cloud computing.

A cloud computing environment is a virtual infrastructure whose pooled resources service a particular function: A search engine, a file storage and retrieval system, a web application service with individualization. Thousands of virtual machines with a single purpose: Providing a single non-stop service.

VDI can be a cloud service) or you can setup your own VDI environment for 5,000 users that has nothing to do with cloud computing. The difference in VDI and DaaS is that when one of the 5,000 users connects to a desktop, it is in a one-to-one ratio. Every time I connect to my virtual desktop, it is my personal virtual desktop. Every time you connect to your virtual desktop, it is your personal virtual desktop.

Cloud computing as well leverages service optimization, which is a fancy way of saying that cloud services are doled out in a “low touch” or “no touch” scenario. Some call this a self-service environment and come to think of it it can be that. However, most often, it means that services are provisioned in an automated fashion.

For example, you need to setup a new web service. Using cloud computing and some clever front-end programming, you’d never have to speak to another person to do so. You could run through a wizard and in a few clicks, you’d have your new cloud-based service up and running. If you need a new virtual machine setup for a particular workload, a new virtual private server could be yours within minutes with no human intervention in the process.

If your answer is ‘Yes,’ you as well need to know that a private cloud doesn’t have to be hosted in your own data center. That’s right, you can use a shared data center and on the whole have a private cloud of your very own. Shared data center doesn’t mean public cloud. Think of it like this: You have a business in a large multi-tenant office building. You don’t own the building however your business is there. You are sharing certain resources yet your business is separate and distinct from all others in that same multi-tenant office building.

Full-time Windows

Kenneth 'Ken' Hess is a full-time Windows and Linux system administrator with over 15 years of experience with Mac, Linux, UNIX, and Windows systems in large multi-data center environments.

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